Off Topic World Cup Thread

England announce 23-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope.

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gary Cahill, Fabian Delph, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ashley Young.

Midfielders: Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Forwards: Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Jamie Vardy, Danny Welbeck.

Stand-by: Tom Heaton, James Tarkowski, Lewis Cook, Jake Livemore and Adam Lallana.

 

Oh..........

 

CM creativity for that squad is poor, and yes
LOLlana + Wheelchair have not played/performed
often/well enough this season to justify a place.

The DOF IMHO has been VERY lucky.

 

Jones and Cahill I thought he'd moved on from them. Keane is very unlucky, as are Mawson and Tarkowski - all look better than Cahill

*Mawson's injured so fair enough.

 

I would have taken Shelvey to be honest. Barrel dredging it might be, but at least he offers something different.

 

Old tune......new words. Sing-a-long styleeeee............

Back home,
they'll be dreading to watch us
when we are far away.
Back home,
You'll be behind the sofa
for every game we play.

They'll dread every goal that we chuck in, out there
We'll get 3 total ****ings,
And we'll give up and fly right back,
To the folks back home.

Back home,
They'll be watching and waiting
and jeering every loss
Back home,
Though we think we're the greatest
We'll just not give a toss

Once more, we will meet with the best.
Like before, we'll be put to the test.
Knowing we'll give up and fly straight back,
To the folks back home.

They'll see as they're watching and praying,
That we'll not long be staying,
We'll be ****e when the whistle blows,
then run straight back home.

 

Somewhere for people to discuss the upcoming tournament, so that it doesn't end up all over the place.
Edit: Yeah, I thought this might happen if I moved posts that were older than the thread!

 

England should just **** trying to compete directly with teams and go 4-4-2.
Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Rose; Sterling, Alli, Dier, Lingard; Kane, Vardy.
There's no creativity in the midfield anyway, so go with pace and directness plus a bit of width.

 

England have been forever guilty of trying to be some other team instead of playing to our strengths. So yes, as PNP says go more direct.

 

Didn’t know about Mawson. That’s a shame as he has looked excellent in a poor Swans outfit.
Selecting Cahill is a feckin’ disgrace even before you factor in the likes of Keane being available. And I suppose we had to expect Jones getting selected!

When I heard the leaks about Hart and Wheelchair last night I was hopeful that Southgate had broken the mould. How wrong that turns out to be......... and with Delph and Young in the squad I can’t see the DoF getting a look in.

Oh well, looking at the paucity of that squad, at least the lads will have a couple of extra weeks holiday before the new season

 

The saddest reality is that Delph and Young have actually been better than most other English LBs this season. Shaw doesn't play... Because of Young, while Bertrand and Cresswell have been involved in relegation dog fights and Baines is way past his sell by date. I think that's why Rose got picked, if any LB actually had a very good season he probably would've missed out but while Danny has been absolute gash for us, no one has stepped up enough to displace him from the England squad.

 

I'd play:

Pickford - or maybe Pope actually, really impressed me.
Walker, Maguire, Stones, Rose
Sterling, Dier, RLC, Alli
Kane, Vardy

We haven't got creativity outside of Alli and we're not a side that can defend astutely so just play to our strengths and attack. Walker and Rose bomb forward, Sterling and Vardy's utilise their pace, Alli and RLC's trickery and Kane to bang em in from everywhere.

Job's a good'un tbh. I'd win England the World Cup.

 

But 3 LB’s in such a weak squad looks to be a luxury we can ill afford.
The MF looks particularly threadbare

 

Worth noting that neither Delph or Young are actual LBs by trade. They've just played there, sort of like throwing Dier at RB. Delph is primarily a CM and Young is a winger.

 

Appreciate that, but both Young and Delph have been performing there solidly for months so must be the first two options..... would surely be a massively gamble to play them out of their ‘regular’ positions. And one of the reasons that Young ended up at LB was that he was becoming **** as a winger

 

And 3 right backs in Tripps, Walker and Terence Trent D'Arby

 

I think Rose will be first choice if I'm honest. So long as he proves his fitness to Southgate leading up to the first game. Young will probably play if Rose ain't looking too sharp while Delph is the insurance policy. It's quite handy though that Delph and Young can play different roles if need be, always think having versatility is a major asset, just like Dier for us.

 

Picking Rashford, Sterling, Lingard & Welback suggests Southgate recognises that pace is an asset he must use.
But what have we seen in qualifying or warm-up games to indicate he has a game plan designed to use it? Who can create chances for them?
It's odd that an uncapped right back is called up when he has two more experienced players in the squad in that position and others can play there too. How many right backs does he need? Why discard Smalling now? Or why not give that place to another defensive midfielder who can keep the ball and protect the back four?
The better international teams at the WC can control the ball. England don't retain possession for long enough or pass accurately enough. It seems that Southgate has abandoned hope of England being able to do so in the belief that they can counterattack quickly and one of the speed merchants can run in behind the opposing team's defence.
Most of England's better players in the squad rely on the creativity of foreign teammates at club level. Eriksen, Silva, de Bruyne etc are a class or two above the players available to England in that role. I'd have picked Wilshere because he's the nearest we've got if he plays well.
Not that any of this matters because Q-F is the best England can hope for in the very best case scenario.

 

Agree with much of this Luke, although any justification for including Smalling would surely be at the exclusion of Jones! And what of the great English CB ‘hope’ Stones? His career has imploded at a ridiculous rate.

However, I’m afraid that there’s no case for Wilsheres inclusion - and certainly not above Shelvey at the very least.

But frankly, it’s all a pointless exercise.....

 

Squad was pretty much what I picked out, clearly Gareth was getting my letters. The two Newcastle lads Shelvey and Lascalles were unfortunate, certainly with the latter I hope he gets a chance to show what he can do after the WC and therefore gets a punt at the Euros. Shelvey may now never get another chance especially if some of our younger creative options kick on. I would start:

Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire
Trippier Henderson RLC Rose
Sterling Alli
Kane

Swap Dier for Henderson if you want more defensive ability, and swap Lingard and Vardy in for Alli and Kane if you want to play on the counter. I actually really like RLC and feel he could be a bit of a wildcard at this tournament. Cahill went for his experience in a squad that is light on years and caps, and Southgate probably thinks he is a good tourist - important for those less likely to start. Welbeck is an odd one because I didn't have him anywhere near my 23 and then I thought about it - management must consider him to be a good character and usually does pretty well for England (relatively...) and versatile to boot. Not so surprised he's gone.

I think its a reasonably good squad given the pool we have to pick from. We'll be living on a prayer defensively but if the midfield can click then I think we could see some decent football and probably on on-par performance given we're ranked 13th in the world.